Apparatus for packaging annular articles



March 1, 1960 c. J. DENTZER ET 'AL 2,926,598

APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING ANNULAR ARTICLES Filed Jan. 12, 1959 his-L E 8 Sheets-Sheet ,1

"WEN TORS CARL J. DENTZER, ARV/NE E'LAUGHLIN 0nd ALBERT L. STOECKEL Allamey s Shets-Sheet 2 lufllllllv March 1, 1960 c. DENTZER ETAL APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING ANNULAR ARTICLES Filed Jan. 12, 1959 INVENTORS CARL I. DENTZER, ARV/IVE E. LAUGl-ILM/ and ALBERT L. STOEC/(EL Attorney llVkll/ lll-Ylll March 1, 1960 c. J. DENTZER ET'AL 2,926,598

APPARATUS FOR Y'PACKAGING ANNULAR ARTICLES Filed Jan. 12, 1959 I a Sheets-Sheet 3 :EEE.EcEFcFFPFIEEFEEE====== INVE/V 7' 0R5 CARL J DE/VTZER, ARV/NE E. LAUGHL IN and ALBERT LSTOEC/(EL Attorney Mamh 1960 .J.'DENTZER .ETAL ,926,598 APPARATUS FOR PACKAGINGANNULAR ARTICLES y )5 Attorne March c J. DENTZER ET-AL B Sheets-Sheet 5 I lEr'- B I! I1 I 5L i i; ii I n 52 56 1 I :I x50 I I :1 I: H I] u [I .96 i:

E q I 3 I I l 94 l Hill/swans 04m .1. DE/VTZER, ARV/NE E. LAUGHL/M and ALBERT 1.. STOEC/(EL 1, 1960 c. J. DENTZER ETAL APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING ANNULAR ARTICLES Filed Jan. 12, 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTORS CARL J. DE/VTZER ARV/NE E. mus/11.1w and AL 05/? r L. .STOECKEL Attorney March 1, 1960 c. J. DENYTZER ETAL 2,926,598

I APPARATUS .FOR PACKAGING ANNULAR ARTICLES Filed Jan. 12, 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTORS CARL J. DE/VTZER, ARV/NE E. LAuaHL 11v and .41. BERT L. STOECKEL United States Patent APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING ANNULAR ARTICLES Carl J. Dentzer, Parma, Ohio, Arvine E. Laughlin, Waukegan, 111., and Albert L. Stoeckel, Euclid, Ohio, assignors to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application January 12, 1959, Serial No. 786,257

9 Claims. (Cl. 100-1) The present invention relates generally to the art of packaging articles and more particularly has as its primary object the provision of an apparatus for packaging a plurality of annular articles into a compact unitary package.

The invention finds practicalapplication in the packaging. ofcoils of wire or rod and in that application I shall, in an exemplary way, describe it.

The above and other-objects will become more apparent after referring to the following specification and attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the general arrangement of the apparatus of the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view with parts broken away for clarity of. the conveyor of the apparatus of the inventiJn;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the up-ender of the apparatus showing operation thereof in phantom;

Figure 6 is an end view looking at the right end of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is an elevational view partly in section of the turnstile of the invention;

Figure 7a is an enlarged view of a portion of Figure 7 showing a spider shaft arrangement of the turnstile;

Figure 8 is an enlargedsectionalview'taken on the line VIII-VIII of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a plan view showing-the elevator of the apparatus; 7

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken on the line XX of Figure 9;

Figure 10a is an enlarged sectional view taken line X a of Figure 10; v

Figure 11 is a sectional view taken on the line XI-XI of'Figure l0;

Figure 12 is a plan view of" the compressor of the apparatus; I

, Figure 13 is aside elevational view of Figure 12;

Figure 14 is an end view looking. at the left end of Figure 13; and

Figure 15 is a cross sectional view taken on the line XVXV of Figure 13. f

It is believed that the detailed description of the invention will be more readily understood if preceded by the following general description of the apparatus and its operation.

In general, the apparatus of the invention includes a rotatable post or turnstile having a beam reciprocable axially through the upper portion thereof between extreme portions overhanging the post on one side or the other. An up-ender adapted to string coils on the beam is disposed adjacent one side of the post and forms part of a feed conveyor for conveying articles to the post. A compression ram is provided adjacent the side of the post opposite the up-ender for compressing coils for strapping when strung on the beam. An elevator platform support and discharge ramp are positioned between on the a 2,926,598 ECC Patented Mar. 1, 1960 vator platform supports the coils while the beam is being retracted. The discharge ramp is provided for receiving the packaged coils.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 2 designatesthe roller conveyor of the invention which is comprised of a plurality of-power driven rolls 4, driven by a gear motor 6 through chains 8 and 9-.

In order that varying sizes of coils C of wire and the like can be accommodated, two pairs-of guide plat-es 1t), 10 and 12, 12 are provided on the conveyor. The guide plates, which function to center the coils on the conveyor, are adjustable toward and away from each. other by means of a handle 14 through ascrew 16,. sprockets 18 and chain 20. A coil up-ender 22 madeup of freely rotatable gravity rollers forms the end of' the conveyor. An angular bar 28' having a short leg 'and. a long leg is pivotally mountedin the center of the por-- tion of the conveyor. just preceding the up-ende'r and is provided with upwardly projecting coil stops 24 and 26. The stop 24'is adjustable along the length of the long leg of bar 28 while the stop 26 is'fixed on the short leg adjacent the up-ender 22. The bar 28 vis'pivoted in seesaw fashion by means of the piston rod of a fluid pressure cylinder 30 to raise stops 24 and 26se1ectively to feed coils C sequentially onto the up en'der.

Referring now to Figuresl-6, the coils C' fedfronr the conveyor 2 onto the up-ender 22 translate? down'onthe gravity rollers 32 of the up-ender and. stop in posi tion against an adjustable coil stop 34 which projects; upwardly from the end'of the up-enter. The stop 34' ismounted in guides 36 and is adjustable therealong by' means of a screw 38 to accommodate varying sizes of coils C.

Afiuid pressure cylinder 40 is pivotally mountedb'e=- low the up-ender 22 with the free end of its piston rod pivotally connected with the underside of the up ender intermediate its sides. The forward end' of the up=ender is connected with a fixed support 42 by means of a-pair of relatively short links 44 and the rearward end-is con nected with the support 22 by means of a' pair of rela-' tively long links 46 which are rotatably mounted on a transverse shaft 47. When the piston rod of cylinder id is projected the up-ender assumes vertical positionand places a coil C on a horizontal beam 43 andthen returns to a starting position ready to accept the next coil. The stop'34 is adjusted inwardly of the up-ender when smaller diameter coils are to be processed so that the coildrops on the beam when the up-ender assumes vertical position. The stop 34 is adjusted in the opposite direction to accommodate larger diameter coils.

With reference now particularly to Figures 7, 7a and 8, reference numeral 59* designates generally therotzitable' post or turnstile of the invention. The post includes a fixed upright support member 52 rigidly mounted ona stationary base 54. A housing 56 having a separable upper portion 56 is mounted for rotationaround the" upright member 52 on bearings 58 and 60; Trie upperfreely rotatable except for a locating action imposed by spring loaded detents 76 which run in contact with a threeposition cam 78 one of which is affixed to each of the shafts 80 of the spiders 68 to keep the spiders in proper position.

The beam 48 is an integral part of the post assembly and is mounted for reciprocable movement through the upper portion of the housing 56. Four rollers 82 in the housing support and guide the beam during its reciprocating movements. The beam 48 is traversed back and forth by a series of gears 84, 86, 88, and 90 and a pinion 92 operated by a motor 94 through a shaft 96 which extends vertically through the upright support member 52. The pinion 92 meshes wtih a rack 98 which is affixed to and extends longitudinally along the beam 48. Stops 100 are provided on opposed sides of the housing 56 and cooperate with stop plates 102 mounted on the ends of the beam 48 for limiting the movement of the beam.

The elevator platform assembly of the invention, designated generally by reference numeral 104, is supported on a stationary base 106 and includes a vertically moving elevator platform made up of lower and upper frame members 108 and 110, respectively. The lower frame 108 is rigidly fastened to two guide posts 112 which slide through vertical bearings 114 in the base 106. The guide posts 112 prevent rotational movement of the elevator platform.

The upper frame member 110 is slidably fastened to the lower frame 108 and is provided with a slide bearing 116 which allows the upper frame member to be moved back and forth horizontally toward and away from the post 50 by a fluid pressure cylinder 118.

A pair of spaced guide rolls 120 are journaled in the upper portion of the upper frame 110. The elevator platform is raised and lowered by means of a fluid pressure cylinder 122.

An elongated inclined platform 124 is disposed between the guide rolls 120 supported on guide posts 126 which are carried by the lower frame member 108 and slide through vertical bearings 128 in the upper frame member 110. When the elevator platform is in lowered position the bottoms of the guide posts 126 rest on the stationary base 106 and the inclined platform 124 projects upwardly above the guide rolls 120 in alignment with a discharge ramp 130 which is disposed adjacent the elevator assembly. When the elevator platform is in raised position, as best shown in Figure 11, the guide rolls 120 are above the inclined platform 124.

As best shown in Figures 12-15, the compressor ram element of the invention includes a supporting frame 132 having an upper portion formed into spaced guide ways 134. A slide plate 136 is disposed within the guide ways 134 for sliding movement toward and away from the post 50. Slide plate 136 is connected with and moved by the piston rod of a fluid pressure cylinder 137 which is mounted on the frame 132. The main compressor spindle 138 of the compressor ram is rotatably supported in bearings 140 and 142 on the sliding plate 136 for movement with the slide plate. A spider 144 is mounted on the end of the spindle 138 for rotation therewith.

Indexing means, designated generally by reference numeral 145, for the spindle 138 is mounted on the slide plate 136 and connected with a motor 147. The indexing means, which is conventional and not claimed as our invention, may be of any suitable type desired that will rotate the spindle 138 in increments of approximately 120.

A spring-loaded detent assembly designated by reference numeral 146 is provided on the slide plate 136 for restricting the spindle from rotation when the indexing means is not operating. The detent assembly 146 includes a circumferential flange 148 on the spindle having three spaced recesses 150 thereon for selectively receiving a spring-loaded roller 152.

In operation, the up-ender 22 receives coils C sequentially from the conveyor 2 and places them on the beam 48.

While the up-ender is placing a coil on the beam the coil stop 26 restrains the movement of the next coil beyond the conveyor. When a predetermined number of coils C have thus been placed on the beam 48, the post 50 and the beam 48 are rotated 180 as a unit so that the group of coils C on the ram 48 is positioned over the elevator assembly 104 and in line with the compressor spider 144. While the post 50 is being rotated the elevator platform is raised to a position wherein the guide rolls 120 are disposed just below the bottom of the group of coils.

After the post and beam have been rotated 180 and the elevator platform has been raised to just below the coils cylinder 137 is actuated to move the slide plate 136 toward the post. This movement of the slide plate causes the spider 144 to engage one end of the group of coils C on the beam 148 and push the coils against the post spider 68. After the coils C have been thus compressed against the post spider 68, the movement of the compressor slide plate is halted and then retracted approximately 4 inches.

The elevator platform is now raised to top position so that the coils C are resting on the guide rolls 120 and the weight of the coils is removed from the beam 48. The beam 48 is then retracted by means of the rack and pinion assembly 98, 92 in the housing 56 which is operated by the hydro motor 94 through gears 84, 86, 88, and shaft 96, and the operation of loading coils on the beam 48 by the up-ender 22 is repeated.

After the beam 48 has been fully retracted the elevator platform is lowered or raised, depending on the diameter of the coils, so as to line up the coils between the post spider and the compressor spider. Cylinder 137 is then actuated to project the slide plate 136 and thereby compress the coils C between the post spider and compressor spider.

While the coils are under compression a strapping band may be installed manually or by mechanical means (not shown) and the group of coils C indexed approximately 120 until three strapping bands have been installed and the group of coils C have become a unit package.

Then, the slide plate 136 is retracted and at the same time the upper frame of the elevator platform is moved horizontally a short distance toward the compressor spider 144 to free the banded unit package from the post spider 68. After the upper frame member 110 has completed its horizontal movement, the elevator platform is lowered to its lowermost position and the upper frame 110 is moved horizontally back to its initial position. When the elevator platform has been lowered to its lowermost position the banded unit package engages the inclined platforms 124 and rolls off the elevator assembly onto the inclined discharge ramp 130.

It will be noted that, if desired, automatic controls for operation of the apparatus of the invention may be provided so that the steps of the operation of the apparatus take place in proper sequence automatically.

While one embodiment of our invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for packaging annular articles comprising a rotatable post, a beam reciprocable axially through said post between extreme positions overhanging said post on one side or the other, means for compressing said articles for tying when strung on said beam, means for lifting a plurality of said articles from said beam, and means for reciprocating said beam from one extreme position to the other.

2. Apparatus for packaging annular articles as defined by claim 1 wherein said rotatable post includes a stationary upright support, a housing rotatable about said support, said beam being reciprocable through said housing, and power means connected with said housing for rotating th letter about said support.

3. Apparatus for packaging annular articles as defined by claim 2 in which said means for reciprocating said beam comprises a rack and pinion and power means connected with said pinion for driving the same.

4. Apparatus for packaging annular articles as defined by claim 2 characterized by cooperating stop members on said housing and on said beam for limiting the axial movement of said beam.

5. Apparatus for packaging annular articles comprising a rotatable post, a beam reciprocable axially through said post between extreme positions overhanging said post on one side or the other, abutments on opposite sides of said post subjacent the path of said beam, a compressor ram mounted adjacent said post for horizontal movement toward and away from one of said abutments for compressing said articles for tying when strung on said beam, means for lifting a plurality of said articles from said beam, and means for reciprocating said beam from one extreme position to the other.

6. Apparatus for packaging annular articles as defined by claim 5 characterized by said abutments and said compressor ram being rotatable, and means for indexing said annular articles while under compression for tying.

7. Apparatus for packaging annular articles as defined by claim 5 characterized by said means for lifting a plurality of said articles being an elevator support mounted adjacent said post for movement in a vertical plane intersecting the path of said beam.

8. Apparatus for packaging annular articles as defined by claim 5 including means adjacent said post for stringing said annular articles on said beam.

7 9. Apparatus for packaging annular articles as defined by claim 6 characterized by a spring-loaded detent mounted on said post in cooperative association with each of said rotatable abutments for controlling the rotation of the latter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Ranney Nov. 11, 1952 2,883,925 Pritchard et al. Apr. 28, 1959 

